Prep football: Drake holds off Redwood for 15-10 win

When wide receiver Eddie Calderon scored in the third quarter, he didn't just complete a 53-yard play on a pass from quarterback Tyler Weeks, he gave his team the lead Drake would need to prevail 15-10 over Redwood.

"It felt great, but I have to give it up to the (offensive) line because they were blocking for my quarterback Tyler (Weeks) and without that, Tyler might not have been able to make the throw and that was a perfect throw by him," said Calderon, who also had an 11-yard catch in the first quarter.

"It felt amazing, and I think it was good because everybody all week knew that we had to win so we just had to work hard."

Drake (5-4, 2-4 MCAL) jumped on the board early, moving up the field on the first of Gavin Hallinan's three catches, then scoring on a short run by Gabe Ruzzier-Gaul.

"That first drive they made, we didn't cover that one receiver. That first drive is what basically killed us," Redwood coach Corky Henderson said. "The rest of the game, I'd say we were pretty evenly matched."

A 40-yard field goal was the only offense the Giants offered up until the fourth quarter, when Will Gaul took a 27-yard pass from Zack Dubin into the end zone. Redwood (1-8, 1-5) had taken over when lineman Joe Perrella intercepted Weeks' pass.

"Our defense played a pretty good game. You know, you hold a team to two scores, you're doing a pretty good job. They're a very good team, they're way better than their record, just like my guys are," Henderson said.

There was a scary moment for Redwood in the third quarter when running back Khari Haynes went down after a big hit. Henderson said Haynes twisted his ankle but will be OK to play next weekend.

"We knew it'd be a hard game and we knew they'd come here to play hard... it's about as evenly matched a game as we'd played all year, just two good teams. They came out with one more score than us," Henderson said. "It's tough to lose a tight one like that, it really is."

"We were fired up for this win," Drake coach Ethan Hough said.

Weeks was 6 for 13 on the day, throwing for 139 yards— 75 of which were to Hallinan.

"I just think that we played all four quarters 100 percent," Calderon said. "In other games, we haven't done that as well, so I just think it was the execution throughout the whole game."

Drake hosts Novato next weekend in the final game of the regular season and hopes to finish strong.

"Our team, our family, we all know that we've been working hard every game, even though the score doesn't show it. We're still working hard and doing our best," Calderon said.